“Mother, help sort the chestnuts by size. Pick out five jin of chestnuts that are about the same size,” Qianhua said as she assigned Liu Shi her task.
“Alright,” Liu Shi replied, placing the chestnuts by the stove and beginning to sort them.
“I’ll help too,” Liang Er said eagerly, sitting down on a stool.
“Father, don’t sort the chestnuts. I have another job for you. After Mother finishes sorting them, you use a kitchen knife to cut a small slit in each chestnut—about this long.”
Qianhua picked up a knife and demonstrated by making a small cut on the chestnut shell.
“Why cut the shells?” Liang Er asked, puzzled.
“Yes, Qianhua, why cut perfectly good chestnuts?” Liu Shi also didn’t understand.
“If you don’t make a slit, the chestnuts will burst open when heated. And with a cut, they’re much easier to peel after roasting,” Qianhua explained.
“Alright then. Your mother sorts them, and I’ll cut the slits,” Liang Er agreed.
He took the knife and carefully cut a small opening on each chestnut that Liu Shi sorted.
True to his skill with handiwork, even the slits he made were neat and uniform.
Qianhua went into the kitchen and lit the fire. First, she needed to make sugar syrup.
She poured some water into the pot. Once it boiled, she added the malt sugar and stirred until it melted. She then simmered it over low heat until it reached the thickness she wanted, before transferring it into a bowl.
“Father, Mother, this is called sugar syrup. We’ll need it when roasting the chestnuts. This thickness is just right. It’s simple—you should be able to make it yourselves now,” she explained while ladling it out.
The couple nodded repeatedly, saying they had learned it.
Next came roasting the sand. Qianhua poured about ten jin of the prepared sand into the pot, added a spoonful of cooking oil, and asked Liu Shi to help stir-fry the sand.
Qianhua herself tended the fire, increasing the heat so the sand warmed up. When she reached into the pot and felt the sand becoming hot, she estimated the temperature was around fifty degrees Celsius. She then dumped all five jin of prepared chestnuts into the pot.
“Mother, keep stirring continuously, or the chestnuts will burn.”
Once the chestnuts were added, they had to be constantly turned to ensure even heating and prevent scorching or undercooking.
“Alright, I know,” Liu Shi replied, wiping sweat from her forehead as she kept stirring.
Used to hard labor, Liu Shi had decent strength, but even so, the nonstop stirring soon made her arms ache.
“Qianhua, go bring a stool from the main hall and place it by the stove. I’ll take over for your mother,” Liang Er said, seeing how strenuous the work was and unwilling to let Liu Shi suffer alone.
Qianhua tossed a few more pieces of firewood into the stove and went to fetch a stool.
Liang Er sat in front of the stove, gripping the large iron spatula and flipping the sand and chestnuts continuously. The contents of the pot rustled with a shua-la shua-la sound. With a man’s greater strength, the task became much easier.
Before long, a rich, sweet aroma filled the air, spreading throughout the kitchen.
“So fragrant…” Liu Shi exclaimed first. The smell was irresistible.
When the chestnuts were about seventy to eighty percent done, Qianhua began adding the sugar syrup, pouring it in roughly three batches.
With the syrup added, the aroma grew even richer. Both Liang Er and Liu Shi swallowed unconsciously—the smoke from the fire itself seemed sweet.
Qianhua added a few more sticks of firewood, then stood up to check the chestnuts.
The chestnuts with slits had all split open slightly, revealing golden-yellow flesh inside.
Their shells had become glossy, coated in a transparent layer of caramelized sugar, releasing a deep roasted fragrance.
She picked up one with chopsticks, let it cool slightly, and gently peeled it. The shell cracked easily, and the thin inner skin had already separated from the flesh. She knew they were ready.
She quickly pulled some firewood out, reducing the heat.
“Father, Mother, the chestnuts are done. Let’s take them out and put them into the bamboo basket.”
At her signal, Liu Shi used a wooden spatula while Liang Er used the large iron spatula to pick the chestnuts out from the sand.
Once all the chestnuts were removed, Qianhua poured the sand back onto the bamboo sieve, planning to store it for reuse after it cooled.
Without waiting for them to cool completely, Liu Shi grabbed a chestnut, peeled it, and popped it into her mouth.
“It’s hot—so hot!” she exclaimed, chewing nonstop anyway.
“So fragrant, so sweet! Heaven above—sugar-roasted chestnuts are actually this delicious! You try one too!”
Before Liang Er could respond, she had already picked up a second chestnut.
Seeing her reaction, Liang Er peeled one and tasted it.
“It really is good—soft and powdery, fragrant, and sweet.”
“Father, Mother, do you think these sugar-roasted chestnuts would sell if we took them out to market?” Qianhua asked.
As she’d expected—if even Emperor Qianlong loved this snack, how could it not taste good? She peeled and ate several herself.
“Yes,” the couple answered in unison.
“Then how much do you think we should sell them for per jin?”
Qianhua asked while eating. Though she already had a price in mind, she wanted their opinions.
“Five copper coins per jin should be about right,” Liu Shi said.
Chestnuts weren’t rare in the mountains—raw chestnuts sold for two jin per copper coin. With sugar syrup added, five coins per jin seemed reasonable.
“In town, selling for six or seven coins shouldn’t be a problem,” Liang Er added.
“I’m not planning to sell them in town. I want to take them to the county seat,” Qianhua said. “There are more wealthy people there. I plan to sell them for ten copper coins per jin.”
“Ten coins? Isn’t that too expensive? What if people think it’s overpriced and don’t buy?” Liu Shi objected immediately.
“Mother, sugar-roasted chestnuts are a fresh novelty, and the method is unique. Poor families won’t buy them even if I sell them for five coins. But wealthy families buy pastries that cost one or two taels of silver per jin without hesitation.”
“Our chestnuts may come from our own trees now, but once we sell out, we’ll have to buy more. Firewood has to be gathered, every chestnut must be washed, sorted by size, and slit by hand. That all takes labor and time. Traveling to the county seat by ox cart costs money too. When you add it all up, ten coins per jin really isn’t expensive.”
“Chunxiang, our daughter makes sense,” Liang Er said. “Let’s listen to her.”
“Alright,” Liu Shi nodded. “We’ll do it your way.”